Dear Jellybean,
So, there are these two girls at school and they are VERY mean. they disrespect EVERYONE. you could call them mean girls, but they don't even have that many friends, but they are considered "popular" or upper on the social scale. Ever since ever, they have copied off of peoples papers, disrespected substitute teachers, disrespected teachers in general (i actually have never seen them respect anyone except when in trouble) tripped students, "grinded" 7th graders legs (we are in 8th grade), spit on people, directly made fun of people, spread rumors about people, because they have a top locker they have "accidently" dropped books on students' heads, disrupted calssroom and learning environments, and much, much more. they have also been underaged drinking.
So, my friends and i made a list and gave it to our school counseler, but absolutely nothing has happened and its been a month, what can we do? how can we make a difference without it seeming like we just want them to get in trouble? they do not only harass us, they harrass everyone and we want to stop it.
Sincerely,
Joanna
Dear Joanna,
There is power in numbers. Often, bullies get away with bad behavior by picking on one person at a time to harass. Cowardly? Yes. That's usually the name of the game when it comes to pushy people.
You've got a situation that you can take advantage of, since there are numbers on your side. You are dealing with two bullies. But it sounds like there are way more than two people - maybe even most of your grade - who don't like the way they act, and are fed up.
So here's my suggestion. Get a petition going around your class, and get everyone to sign it. At the top, put something like, "People who wish (the bullies' names) would stop acting so mean to everyone." See how many signatures you can get.
Then make three copies of your signed petition. Hand one copy each to the bullies - that's two down. Maybe seeing in writing how many people are against them, will make them smarten up. You can do this as a group in person (that would be awesome and send a very powerful message), or put the note in their lockers if you're too scared of their reactions.
Give the third copy to your school office. Definitely do this in person, and go with a bunch of like-minded people to the office. Let the people there know you've reported the problem to the school counselor in the past, but nothing happened. Tell them you've taken the iniative to do a petition, and comment on how most of the class is behind it. Repeat that the behavior of these two girls is messing up learning opportunities, and peace of mind, for lots of people in your grade and the grade below, and you hope the office will take it seriously this time and do something about it.
Be sure to let your parents know what you're doing too, so they can give you emotional support, and (hopefully) back you up to the school office, if you don't get satisfaction. Good luck - and let me know how it all works out!
